US car sales boosted in Q1 as Trump’s 25% tariffs loom

Amid fear of Trump’s looming 25% auto tariffs and the associated sticker price hikes, US new car sales jumped 4.8% year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2025 to 3.91 million units, according to data from Wards Intelligence released on 1 April. Notably, electric vehicle (EV) sales rose 19.2%, although domestic market leader Tesla is widely expected to report a notable decline in global deliveries on 2 April.